How to lay out a quality camoflauge paintjob

[Darkmagik]

hello every one this is my first how to that i have ever submitted so dont get mad if i leave some thing out.

Supplies:
1.Xmods body of any sort or any car body
2. Xacto hobby knife (i used a swis army knife)
3.Masking tape
4.Krylon camouflage edition spray paint(best results for camo)
5.Card board
6.Latex Gloves(optional)
7.Patients(recomended)
8. Paper towel (or any stensil type material)

STEP 1

Lets start by dissasembleing the body and all the parts you want to be painted.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00398.jpg

STEP 2

Mask all the peices that you don't want to be painted like the headlights, tail lights, windows, ect....
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00396.jpg

STEP 3

Put the body of the car on the card board and give the body a nice 1st coat of primer which is flat paint. (can be any of the krylon series since they are all flat paint.)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00399.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00400.jpg

STEP 4
Let the car dry for about one hour so the paint could harden(Car can be touched after 20 minutes but the paint is not very hard and might smudge or affect results.)

STEP 5

Here comes the tricky part you need to have your stencil ready to be used now. You put your stencil over the part you want painted and you spray. some perople use masking tape as their stencil so they have a nice even painting but i personally do not reccomend it (i have tried and it comes out pretty bad.).
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00403.jpg
repeat as many times necessary to create the design of your liking.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00401.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00402.jpg

STEP 6

Wait until all the paint is dry and make all touch ups needed.

STEP 7

Reassemble your nicely painted car and there you have a very nice looking camouflaged car.

(I will post a picture of the final product soon the hood and rear bumper did not come out like i wanted to so i have to redo it.)



ENJOY

Jon

[coolcar24th]

Dont you have to sand it down before painting?

[Darkmagik]

Dont you have to sand it down before painting?

You can, but no it is not needed you just need a basic primer coat and you are set.

[bondo]

You can, but no it is not needed you just need a basic primer coat and you are set.

and then you can actually watch the paint jump from the body at the first sign of a crash.

you need to scuff the surface with at least 600g sandpaper for proper adhesion.
if you would have sanded the body before you painted you wouldnt have had those ugly "fisheyes" on the hood.

overall, it's a decent tut but you need to remove the lenses and ALL other body peices. paint everything seperate to ensure proper coverage in the creases and seams.
if you dont remove the lenses then most likely you will get paint creeping under the lenses and the only way to fix it is to remove the lenses. seems easier to just do it in the first place.

paper towels are never a good thing to use as stencil. way too many contaminants.

cheers,
bondo

[4banger]

You can, but no it is not needed you just need a basic primer coat and you are set. will it make a difference if you do or dont sand:-? edit: bondo ansered it

[Darkmagik]

Umm bondo for painting camo its not bad to use paper towels for other projects it is bad i used them for a long time and i have painted many airsoft riles and pistols with paper towel stencils and they came out as good as a camo painted gun should get. yes i stupidly forgot to remove the lenses.

PAINTING camo is the only painting that does not need sanding the reason that fish eyes appeared on my hood was bcause i was painting in the cold >30 degrees weather.

[#1_05mustang]

this is a great tut and i have that same knife but in green.

[mustanglover]

it looks like a chocolate cow

[coolcar24th]

I agree with bondo, I have painted cars befor where I did not sand it and the paint became all runny and did not stick well. You should also remove the head and tailights like Bondo said.

[Darkmagik]

I agree with bondo, I have painted cars befor where I did not sand it and the paint became all runny and did not stick well. You should also remove the head and tailights like Bondo said.


I should have removed the head and tail lights but i completely forgot to.

[bondo]

i wasnt going to go on a rant about this but just to state my position, paper towels are bad all the way around.
i wont even use them to clean my brushes simply because of the lint content.
your stencil material should be a solid, non porous,lint free material.
it should also )preferrably) be self adhering. you can see a few places on your black where the paper towel lifted the paint. this is most likely from the mask moving when you were spraying????

camo paint or not, it's always best to tooth the surface with at least 600g before your primer/basecoat.
it has nothing to do with the type/style of painting you intend on doing.
it's all about acheiving the maximum ammount of paint to surface grip as possible without leaving visible gouges/scratches.
and on that note:
enamel paint doesnt fisheye from temperature, it cracks and crazes.
fish eyes are caused from a lack of adhesion either due to non porous surface or oily residues often left by fingers.
with nothing for the paint to grip to, it pools back onto itself.

it's obvious that you did'nt "forget" about the lenses as you masked them.
people generally like to take the easy route and in doing so end up with a less then satisfactory paint job.
the most important thing to remember when painting is TAKE YOUR TIME.
i can knock out a single color paintjob in about 4 hours total time but it doesnt look as great as the ones that take 2 weeks.
when i accept a car for a repaint the client knows that it's going to be a good while before i send their cars back. i want their cars to be top notch and im not going to compromise time for an unsatisfactory paintjob.


as far as the camo goes, you need at least one other color on there for it to appear realistic.
double color camo's are fine as long as the colors mimic something.(desert storm trucks were 2 colors, tan and brown but they were mimicking sand)
with the colors you have,the only thing you would blend in with is a herd of cows.

now before you get deffensive and take my words the wrong way, you can rest assured that i've taken flack in almost all of my tutorials.
it's just the nature of the beast. everyone has their own way of doing things and an open platform to express these.i'm simply voicing mine.
the way it stands, this is a good tut for the basics of how camo should look and your methods are very clear with detailed pics but chances are, it wont be stickied.
here's why,
1. there's no finished product.
2. your process is flawed and the mods are looking for the best tuts for stickies.
3. it looks cheap and unrealistic.

take a look at XMODifications latest camo's.
he even stated himself that he's not a painter(could've fooled me) but he pulled off two of the best looking camo jobs ive seen with minimal cost.
he used multiple colors and made it look real.


soapbox mode off,
bondo

[mustanglover]

well just to let you know they make a camoflauge spray paint at my lowes in florida!
later-mustanglover

[Stampedekid]

it looks like a chocolate cow

i agree with you, it does look like a chocolate cow, or atleast the colors do.

[Tmaxxn3]

now bondo ..
you seem to be taking way to much effort out on trying to correct this guys work when you could be using that effort out on painting you own cars that would be up to you "painting king"statious or so you think and just leave this guy alone i do a gree he made some mistakes all new painters would, they proubly didnt think you could put the light back in seeing that you half to break the melted plastic that holds them in...i have painted cars too for friends not a big deal if you want pic's to dish on my stuff e-mail me at [email protected]
ill show you mine.
and im sorry you into making outher peolples work seem bad

[bondo]

i have painted cars too for friends not a big deal if you want pic's to dish on my stuff e-mail me at [email protected]
ill show you mine.


dont much care...................

funny, i thought it would have been darkmajik that got deffensive.
im not trying to make this tutorial sound bad but thats as nice as i can be about it.
as far as tutorials go, this one is put together well but the steps to acheive quality results are lacking.

my POV is only offered to let other members know what not to do.
if i was a noob to painting and i followed this tut, you can rest assured that i'd be kind of ticked if i spent all that time to paint my car/truck in this manor only to have a bunch of crap in my paint from the paper towels or if the paint fell off the body.
and anybody that reads any of the paint tuts on this site would already know to remove the lenses.
it has nothing to do with "paint king" status. it's more along the lines of wanting the members to know the difference between the right way and the half assed way.

kinda funny though how you use your first post to knock someone who actually knows what the hell they are talking about.

[Darkmagik]

as far as the camo goes, you need at least one other color on there for it to appear realistic.
double color camo's are fine as long as the colors mimic something.(desert storm trucks were 2 colors, tan and brown but they were mimicking sand)
with the colors you have,the only thing you would blend in with is a herd of cows.

now before you get deffensive and take my words the wrong way, you can rest assured that i've taken flack in almost all of my tutorials.
it's just the nature of the beast. everyone has their own way of doing things and an open platform to express these.i'm simply voicing mine.
the way it stands, this is a good tut for the basics of how camo should look and your methods are very clear with detailed pics but chances are, it wont be stickied.
here's why,
1. there's no finished product.
2. your process is flawed and the mods are looking for the best tuts for stickies.
3. it looks cheap and unrealistic.

take a look at XMODifications latest camo's.
he even stated himself that he's not a painter(could've fooled me) but he pulled off two of the best looking camo jobs ive seen with minimal cost.
he used multiple colors and made it look real.


soapbox mode off,
bondo

Bondo i didnt take you words the wrong way but no offese a camo paintjob is not at all supose to look pretty and dandy it is supose to look very destracting. I happen to love and want to work with the military and i have studies many things pertaining to the military and one of those things happens to be camouflage. To me i dont care what you think it looks like as long as it will be able to take cove while using it that is what i want it to do. Just an FYI for all the people that want to make camo painted cars the military paints their own cars and do they have the best paint jobs ever no they are very uneven and do not follow a paint pattern because camo is supose to distract the eyes of their enemy not make the people stand out.


Oh bondo did you read what i wrote about my finished product guess not but i'll re type it for you because i respect your opinions and beliefs.

"(I will post a picture of the final product soon the hood and rear bumper did not come out like i wanted to so i have to redo it.)"

read the whole post dont just skip parts, bondo im not trying to single you out but read the whole thing.

[Tmaxxn3]

i wasnt trying to knock you well kinda buti think its lame that you were trying to tell every one all the flaws in the paint that some one else did it jus tnot right (to me) becouse honestly i dont like ppl dissing my paint and as darkmagik said it not susposta be pretty.

[mini-z drift]

not to be offensive but i would use model`paint just`like xmodification did on his zip-zap

[bondo]

i wasnt trying to knock you well kinda buti think its lame that you were trying to tell every one all the flaws in the paint that some one else did it jus tnot right (to me) becouse honestly i dont like ppl dissing my paint and as darkmagik said it not susposta be pretty.

again, i dont much care. your opinion means nil.
i have 2 trucks in my workshop right now that would shut you up real quick.

Darkmajik: i'm not coming down on you for your interest in military vehicles.
your color choices are deffinately confusing to say the least.
pretty is one thing and proper is another.
if you want the rough feathered look then there are other ways to go about it that dont include half a paper towel in your paint.
for instance, you could freehand with an airbrush and use proper colors.
or you could use a more solid masking material such as notebook paper or the like.

being an avid military person, i'm sure your aware that no military force has used antique white and flat black as camo.
that seems like it would only work in either a feild of cows or a meseum of ming vases.
again, look at XMODifications F-150 yes it's pretty but it would also dissappear according to a few members.
the lines are sharp and clean but yet it still has the camo properties.

i did read your entire post, and like i said. it's a decent tut but it's still not finished.
your hood is jacked because you didnt sand as i specified above.
your bumper is jacked for unknown reasons because you didnt get a shot if it aswell.

now, i've called you on all accounts and you have yet to prove any of my points wrong.

i'm sorry if i seem like a dick but i tried being nice about this and you kept pushing.
if you really feel like argueing the facts then bring it to pm and i will show you my darker side.........

i dont much care if you thin imma dick butyou need to be aware that im pretty well versed in paint and i know the goings on of most paint compositions.

no more cheers,

[civic_guy]

Google camo...that brown is way to dark needs to be more tan, unless you add a third color.

Bondo it one of the best painters out there, he wasn't disrespecting anything he's offering advice from the experience he has attained. It's constructive critiscism. He could have easily said "That paint job sucks" but instead he went out of his way to tell you what was good and bad about your tut and what you could do to make it better.

Not only that (and im NOT an expert painter) but your camo looks sloppy. Take a look at military aircraft and military clothing...now one could argue there's no set color pattern for camo and that's fine, however; there's no overspray from one color to another...there's no fading...the boundaries between the colored shapes are clean and neat, they don't fade into one another if you will.

Here's some examples:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-117-camo.jpg

This is how two tone camo should look...very little contrast.
http://digilander.libero.it/lockon/img/f-16desertlomac_small.jpg

Notice how the shapes dont fade...they have solid very neat and organized boundaries. Now the shaped and pattern differ...but the boundaries between the colors don't bleed or fade into each other.

Lastly, your thread title is how to lay QUALITY camo paintjob...not sanding the body before hand is NOT quality...sorry...removing headlight and taillight lenses is NOT quality. We're just trying to help so my advice would be to take the advice.

[Darkmagik]

I got an update as the truck has dried and i added a third color which is black. The car has 3 colors desert tan, brown, and black. Look how it came out with out sanding the body, front bumper, and side skirts. (Krylon does not need sanding the surface has to be nice and smooth for a good paintjob when using krylon.)

Like i said before i was painting in under 30 degrees weather and yes it does affect your painting results i have to wait for warmer weather to redo my hood and rear bumper.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00404.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00406.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/darkmagik828/DSC00405.jpg

Not only that (and im NOT an expert painter) but your camo looks sloppy. Take a look at military aircraft and military clothing...now one could argue there's no set color pattern for camo and that's fine, however; there's no overspray from one color to another...there's no fading...the boundaries between the colored shapes are clean and neat, they don't fade into one another if you will.


Camo is supose to be sloppy not a pretty thing it is supose to distract the human eye so that they object is not detected. Do you know why fabric does not have any color fading? Ill answer the question for you it is because the fabric is made on a computer and they it is sent to a factory which prints the design on the fabric. Each uniform is NEVER painted it is designed by a computer then it is printed.

Jon

[civic_guy]

Did you even click on the links i sent you????? I wasn't talking about JUST clothing I'm talking about Military aircraft. I've NEVER EVER EVER seen a airplane with a fading camo paint job EVER.

http://www.sharpshooter-maj.com/Images/bv06/f18ns41.jpg
Look how clean those lines are between colors on that F-18

http://www.nellis.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/060816-F-8831R-001.jpg
Look at that F-15 those borders between colors are crisp and clean that's ANYTHING BUT messy.

http://digilander.libero.it/lockon/img/f-16desertlomac_small.jpg
Take a look at that F-16....yeah that's just a giant mess :roll:

Camo isn't messy it's painted very carefully to blend in with the surroundings. Don't try and say well it's suppose to be messy when we've commented on how it looks messy...that ain't gonna fly. The pattern of camo is asymetrical and random, yes...but messy? Absolutely not. The Military teaches cleanliness and organization...why would they stop at painting an airplane?

[bondo]

thanks civic for the kind words.
DARK, you are really starting to **** me off with your "camo can be painted any **** way you feel" attitude. if you use crappy paints then your going to get crappy results period.
krylon is one of the worst paints you could think of using.
that rubbish is hardly fit for deck chairs, let alone abused xmods.

get of your cross and acknowledge the advice that versed modders are trying to give you.

now if you wish to keep going, i'm going to pull all the cards on this thread and nit pick every detail from a painters point of view and my earlier posts will mean little.
if you think i'm a dick now then you can bet that your not going to like me in the next few days.............

[Darkmagik]

any way bondo and civic camo is supose to be painted in a flat nonglossy color. that is the last im going to say about camo paint and i dont care about what you have to say.

[bondo]

any way bondo and civic camo is supose to be painted in a flat nonglossy color. that is the last im going to say about camo paint and i dont care about what you have to say.

even though both of us are more versed in paint then you could even comprehend

[Nissanshift350]

darkmagic to be honest i think ur paint job sucks. i have seen bondos work and i know for a fact he knows what he is talking about and you seem to have spent to much time in the paint fumes!!!

[Darkmagik]

even though both of us are more versed in paint then you could even comprehend

My last comment for this thread you may be a quiz at regular painting but you will never be as knowledged as i am when it comes to militray tactics and relations. Just and FYI its a toy not a live actual car being used in Iraq or the desert. I like the way it came out thats what truthly matters, I just wanted to share something with the public and try to make good use of my knowledge.

Jon

[bondo]

My last comment for this thread you may be a quiz at regular painting but you will never be as knowledged as i am when it comes to militray tactics and relations. Just and FYI its a toy not a live actual car being used in Iraq or the desert. I like the way it came out thats what truthly matters, I just wanted to share something with the public and try to make good use of my knowledge.

Jon

my ***, i have the discovery military channel aswell.
from your choice of colors i would think that your "knowledge" is based on G.I.joe

COBRA!!!!! FTMFW

BTW i'm 27 and i have that same bedspread......only in pink....;)

pwnt

[Darkmagik]

No i never even watched GI joe my info is based on live ex-military officials and friends pluss my ex-military family members. My colors are based on operation Desert Sheild the cars they used were painted like that in the begining of the war get your facts strait then came talk to me. HAHA loser watches the discovery military channel get info that is up to date man thats from the 1980s at least i talked to some fellow airsoft players that happened to return from Iraq and more up to date you cant get unless you call one of your buddies in Iraq.

[bondo]

No i never even watched GI joe my info is based on live ex-military officials and friends pluss my ex-military family members. My colors are based on operation Desert Sheild the cars they used were painted like that in the begining of the war get your facts strait then came talk to me. HAHA loser watches the discovery military channel get info that is up to date man thats from the 1980s at least i talked to some fellow airsoft players that happened to return from Iraq and more up to date you cant get unless you call one of your buddies in Iraq.

yea, all of the returning military men are dying to come home and play with airsoft rifles.
and as a matter of fact i have quite a few family members in almost all branches of military.
seriously man, your arguments make you sound like your 12.
i can garuntee that the majority of the members on this forum have family or freinds fighting in iraq and i can also garuntee that none of them have seen a cow colored humvee.
as far as im concerned you can take your "military knowledge" and shove it straight up your 13 yr old ***.

i tried being civil about it and i even tried being a bit more civil when you were trying to tell me that i dont know what i'm talking about.
you've gotten flack from other people that backup my statements but since im the most outspoken about it you feel the need to defend yourself.
that's cool with me since i dont much care if your truck looks like a pile of bear scat. i do however care if people read your load of trash and wreck their vehicles because of it.

look back through the posts on this thread and you will see that the majority of the posters agree with me about most of my points.
the only reason you've singled me out is because im an *** about it, im sorry but it's my nature.
everyone can get used to it because i'm not going anywhere.
if you want me off your back then provide a quality tutorial.


screw cheers,
bondo

[civic_guy]

Your right, your Xmod truck isn't going into the front lines. That wasn't the point, the point of this entire thread is How to lay QUALITY camo paint, which means it SHOULD look like the machines (tanks, jets, hummers, etc.) that are on the front lines. Otherwise it's a made-up piece of crap paint-job.

On the second pic of your update. Look at the roof...you see all that brown overspray on the tan? It's completely sloppy. The Military teaches discipline and the is not a disciplined paintjob. Once again we never said it had to be shiny or glossy. Just like before I never gave you links to clothes for examples of clean looking camo...you're pulling this crap out of thin air. All the links I've given to you are military aircraft with camo paintjobs that are clean and precise. And no, the camo pattern itself has no rhyme or reason but the shapes and borders along the colors are not faded, oversprayed or sloppy.

I gave you props for nice pictures and good descriptions now you need to actually lay something that's quality, and YES for it to be QUALITY it needs to looks like the real thing.

Since I've been giving you links to planes...heres a link to some ground transportation
http://www.army-technology.com/contractor_images/gma/army_trucks1.jpg

Still....it's anything but messy...surprised?....you shouldn't be.

[bondo]

Your right, your Xmod truck isn't going into the front lines. That wasn't the point, the point of this entire thread is How to lay QUALITY camo paint, which means it SHOULD look like the machines (tanks, jets, hummers, etc.) that are on the front lines. Otherwise it's a made-up piece of crap paint-job.

On the second pic of your update. Look at the roof...you see all that brown overspray on the tan? It's completely sloppy. The Military teaches discipline and the is not a disciplined paintjob. Once again we never said it had to be shiny or glossy. Just like before I never gave you links to clothes for examples of clean looking camo...you're pulling this crap out of thin air. All the links I've given to you are military aircraft with camo paintjobs that are clean and precise. And no, the camo pattern itself has no rhyme or reason but the shapes and borders along the colors are not faded, oversprayed or sloppy.

I gave you props for nice pictures and good descriptions now you need to actually lay something that's quality, and YES for it to be QUALITY it needs to looks like the real thing.

Since I've been giving you links to planes...heres a link to some ground transportation
http://www.army-technology.com/contractor_images/gma/army_trucks1.jpg

Still....it's anything but messy...surprised?....you shouldn't be.

well my freind, it's the same as always.
the noobs are right and the people who actually know are wrong.
i'm not as nice as my man william here and im going to make a point to pwn every noob that tries to disagree with members who have been there and done that.
there is absolutely no need for you nubers to try to correct established members when all they are trying to do is help you.
if you would look around the forum then you would easily be able to tell who is full of it and who actually knows their ****.

i'm tired of you god**** noobs jumping in with your 2 cents and trying to overthrow the people that have made the same mistakes as you.
take heed in what we say.WE'VE BEEN THERE MAN!!!
there isnt a god**** thing that any of you can do that hasnt been done before or at least tried with a failed attempt.

you younger people need to learn a life lesson here.
try to learn from the older members instead of fighting with them.
argueing with the older members will only make you look like an ***.

[Darkmagik]

STEP 6

Wait until all the paint is dry and make all touch ups needed.



Read this quote i just didnt get to do my touch up work so it does state something so get off my back. Im sorry that i acked like an ***, but i never let anyone talk me down its my nature. And no im not 13 i am 17 years old. I admit i didnt do my best but i did pretty dam good for makeing a tutorial on how to paint camo. Its the only camo tutorial i have seen that shows camo painting on cars. Bondo like i said before sorry to be real hard on you but i at least tried to make something that is worth reading my job may not have been the factory type but i tried to make something worthy.

As for everyone else touch ups are still being made. (im replacing the head lights so dont ***** about that either.)

Jon